This invention relates to a flexible shower arm assembly, and more particularly to a shower arm assembly having a flexible shower arm to allow for flexible adjustment of the position of the shower head.
Bathing in a shower has replaced bathing in a bathtub as the preferred method of bathing for several reasons, including convenience, comfort, and energy savings. Typically, a person stands in the shower and is sprayed with water through a shower head, which is attached to a shower pipe extending from the central plumbing. A shower head directly attached to the shower pipe is able to be pivoted about the attachment to the shower pipe to provide a certain degree of movement to control the direction of the shower spray. The movement of the shower head is limited to pivotal movement about the connection point to the shower pipe and cannot be translated in any direction.
An improvement to the adjustability of the standard shower head includes the development of the hand-held shower head. The hand-held shower head includes a flexible hose attached to the shower pipe and a shower head having a handle attached to the opposite end of the flexible hose. The hand-held shower head is typically mounted on a bracket attached to the shower pipe to allow the hand-held shower head to be used as a normal shower head, and can normally be pivoted about the attachment of the bracket to the shower pipe. However, the hand-held shower head can also be removed from the bracket and held in the desired position with one hand. This allows the user to move the shower head to any desired position, however it requires that the user utilize one hand to hold the shower head.
Further development in shower head positioning includes shower pipe extensions, which include one or more rigid links having one end pivotally attached to the shower pipe and the other end pivotally attached to the shower head, or to another rigid link. The links are typically elongated rigid hoses and allow for limited movement in the vertical and lateral directions. The movement is limited by the length of the rigid links and the direction of movement allowed by the pivotal joints between the links. This type of rigid link structure often leaks at the joints and can become loose and fail to hold the desired position.
There is missing in the art a shower head assembly which allows the variable positioning of the shower head in three dimensions while leaving the user with two free hands. It is to overcome the shortcomings in the prior art that the present invention was developed.
The present invention in general terms concerns a flexible shower arm assembly that allows the user to repeatably adjust the position of the shower head in three dimensions by configuring the shape of the shower arm attached between the water source, such as a shower pipe, and the water dispenser, such as a shower head. The particular position of the shower head, and the direction of the water spray, can be modified simply by re-configuring the shape of the shower arm. The flexible shower arm holds the desired position until modified by the user. The flexible shower arm is sealingly attached to the shower pipe by a pipe connector nut, and is sealingly and pivotally attached to the shower head by a connection structure.
More particularly, the flexible shower arm assembly includes an elongated flexible member defining fluid transfer path, the flexible member having a first end and an opposite second end. The flexible member is repeatably configurable to a fixed shape. The first end of the flexible member is connected in fluid communication with the shower pipe, and the second end of the flexible member is connected in fluid communication to a shower head. A sheath covers the flexible arm from the first end to the second end.
Still more particularly, the flexible shower arm assembly includes a plurality of interconnected beads forming a flexible arm, each bead rotatable with respect to adjacent beads. The plurality of interconnected beads form an axially extending bore, and have a first end bead at a first end of the arm and a second end bead at a second end of the arm. A shower pipe connector nut, defining an internal bore extending therethrough, has a first end for fluid connection to the shower pipe, and a second end for fluid connection to the first end bead. A shower head, defining a connection structure having an internal bore extending therethrough, is in fluid connection to the second end bead at the second end of the arm.
In one embodiment, the first end bead has an externally threaded end and a partially spherical opposing end. The partially spherical end connects to an adjacent bead. The second end of the connector nut is internally threaded, and the first end of the nut is internally threaded for threaded engagement to the shower pipe. The externally threaded end of the first end bead is threadedly received by the internally threaded second end of the nut.
In another embodiment, the connection structure between the shower head and the second end of the flexible arm includes a retainer for rotatably receiving said second end bead, a collar for receiving the second end bead and the retainer, and a connector for positioning the second end bead and the retainer in the collar.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible shower arm that can be repeatably adjusted to a variety of positions to allow control of the direction of spray from a shower head.